The Sun. — London, England, 1810-03-01 00:00:00

• . - t N4111?..A TIVE -OF•THE LATE CAMPAIGN IN LA MANCHA. BY AN EYE-WITNESS. ipse miserriMa , . . There has, been So much calumq and prejutice Preatl in this cot fury with respect to the, Spanish pa triots ; the itnbecility of their Governme,OtahasTbeen so often.tharged upon them ; "t he -impoliaq . - of making any farther efforts,in then-favour,- so much i ns i s ted upon in some of the pdhlib Viip.ts,.that • the writer of 'the following narrative feels it a duty which he owes thst-brave and high-minded people, to rescue them from* those imputation's. be seen from it, that the loss of the battle of.Ocana, which has led to the ()au - patitin Of 'A Aalitsii,' avaa'nolin 'the - least degree owing to thehaiscondu& of the 'Spanish in= ferior Generals or solaers, but. solely to the rash ness, ignorance, and total - incapaCity of Ariesaga, the CommanSer in Chief,%who an that unfortunate occasion even lost the reputation he had previously actinireti for rersonal courage. - s • The plan of the campaign , suggested by an OtEtera:ofagrTt experience; and- who diStinguished himself in the service of' Austria,. Was as follows : The army of La Mancha was, to pass rapidly through- to the openacountry, carry off the detached corps of the enemy, and - place itself upon the Eastern Tagus, with one division passed over. The rest' of the army was to entrench in the: mountains. If the posi tion should be found not tenable, it was not to come to battle, nut manoeuvre so as to gain the mountains of Guadarama. The Duke:nf Parque was to ma nreuv re'llaon' the Escurial, anti alarm the French on that side of Madrid, while the Duke of Albuquerque was to movein the direction of Talavera. The British were reqtiested to favour these movements. Thus, by the mere effect of manoeuvre, the enemy would have been obliged to retire until his reinforcements arrived; behind the Ebio, without being able tri fight a battle. The first part of the pl,an was well • executed-, , but owing to the imprudenceead folly of Ariesaga ,all was lost. Lieutenant-General Ariesaga was appointed late in •o(tober to the command of the army of La Mancha, which had been for some time stationed in and about La-Cardina, behind the pass of the Opincopeno, and in the mountains-of the Sierra Morena. ..On the 3d of November, the army, consisting of 6600 efic ti'e cavalry, 43,000 effediveinfantry, and 60 pieces of cannon, 'with 'eight - days provisions in waggons, left La CarOlina,anddescending from the mountains: into the plains of La Mancha, marched partly by Daymel to the left, and along the high road to Ma drid, through Valdeaentas and Mansanares, towards the Tagus, in the following order : • Theadvanced gaud, consisting of 2000 cavalry, were one day's march in front; then the seven di visions of infantry, with the reserve of cavalry, and the head-quarters last. army bad no tents, marched from 20:t0.30 English miles a day,and slept in the toWns. The French, on its approach, retired acrossithe Guadiana. About, the sixth day's march, General Freire, who commanded the cavalry, and who al ' ways marched with the - advanced guard, was very 'near surrounding and taking the French General of cliVision Latour Mauhourg, with c I 00 horse, at Ma •A serjeant of -the dragoons of A!canrara having deserted at night, gave the enemy Ultima ' tion and they had just time to get out of the town when the Spanish hussars and dragoons attacked - them at day-break, with great courage, and killed a great many.- The- army-continued its march through Tembleque to DdS' Barrios. -For three or four days the Spanish cavalry arias engaged in very spirited combats withahe Freuch' cavalry, and always suc teeded'in driving the enemy. At La Guarda, tha day before the army arrived at Dos !Barrios, the horse-gaenadiers of Ferdinand VII. the regiments of Fornese, and. Pavia. sabred, for four miles, the dray goons of the French rear-guard. No prisoners were taken on These occasions. The army.advanced to Ocana ; there a great fault was committed ; hitherto every thing had.gone on well... The march was admirable, and the conduct .of the cavalry brilliant; . the infantry had not been en . gaged. Jost in front of Ocana, ahe French rear-guard of the caa airy, presented itself ,and was. charged. It opened right and left, and th 2 Spanish dragoons came upon a regiment. of infantry, Who were drawn up against the town, 'which gave them a volley, killed 200, and took two pieces of cannon of the horse artillery.. Ten thousand French staid all night in the town, and retreated acraaSs. the Tagus early in the morning, although 30,000 Spanish, infantry bi votiacped close to the town. ,The General in Chief was with them, and nauat of course, bear all the blame of this fatal itfaelivity. • The General on quitting Carolina, said his inten tiori was to ma. ch rapidly, upon Mach id, before the , French could;colled and concentrate their army ; but :his.incapacity became soon evident. He delayed three days at Dos Barrios. 'He then made a very dangerous flank march, by his right parallel to the Tagus, to Santa Gratz de la Zarza, 20 English' miles . from Dos Barrios. While .the army remained at ,Dos-Barrios, the cavalry was engaged every day.— T/se Roial Carbineers distmgaished t heniselvesapar ticularlyat , MOra on: the , left. At Sant Crtit the ' General threw bait!ges over the Tagus, and passed a division over. The arMy.continued in this ,sition three days. It had suffered Much ; the clothing was _ very bad. The long matches and wet had destroyed the shoes,; half the "army was bare-looted, but the troops were in hi&h spirits. ~Nothing can exceed the Spanish soldiers for long marches arid stipport -ing hunger and privation of every: kind. The French pushed their patroles Of cavalry to within' half a league of the . town.' The next morning the General drew out his army in order ofbattle.— The rains had now ceased, but the French did not appear. He then took the fatal resolution of_ qua gang the Mountains, which were behind _him, and of going to, seek the French; and give them battle in the 14ains ; with soldiers half famished, badly armed,-and imperfetily Oti. the 18th, of November; the army marched The or , gagement -was vt•ell-contested. Four or five hundred men on both sides fell by the sword .; Frlong' whom was General Pails, who was singlt(l Out and •carried out of the ,saddle by one of the lanceros of -Pavia. The army bivOuacqued that night_ The next. , morning the French 'army, which had been 'col-;, "le6ting same days, presented itself, hating crossed . the Tagus in the night. General. Areisaga dre(v' out his army to receive - them ; his disposition was bad. He divided it into two equal. parts ; one on each side of Ocana, ..which stands in an immense and touching the town, both wings en l'oir. This was bad, because though it Was easy to com municate before and behind the town, yet it divided the line: The- ground. fell a littlt in front, and there was a gentle slope to some olive plantations about two miles in front, behind which the French were, arnotuiting to 43,000, There was another error in the:disposition. The second, line was too near the fir4t; so that there was not room to rally. the - latter in case of disorder. Most of the cavalry were upqn the right flank in four aues ; a vicious,dispo sition,, because they' made little show, and were neither column nor line. The artillery was all stationed upon the flanks' ,of each division, and was admirably served ; the Spanish artillery is their best arm. . . . 'At seven o'clock in the, morning the skirmishes of the- Spanish army, under the yOung Geberal Zayes, who commanded the advanced guard, and who is one of the most cistinguished soldiers in Spain, attacked and drove back the - French cavalry. Between - eight and nine, all the Spanish army was in-order or . battle, about 5:.,000 men, and the can nonade began on both sides. Tie French fired from a battery in their centre, diageinly upon the Spanish right, and struck the cavalry often, who supported the cannonade for a long time, with great steadiness and discipline. The French then ad vanced several strong colunitis from the olives, and marched towards the Spanish centre and right. At this moment, the Spanish, General gave orders to the whole of the hoe on the right of Onana, to' advance, and .charge with bayonets ; the cavalry moving on also equal with the infantry. The line advanced more than 200. paces. The French 'co lumns in the mean time deployed; and . gave a great fire .of vollies, by battalions and grape, which check- ed the Spaniards. The French ,cavalry 'attacked the left and were repulsed; but they entered with their cavalry the centre. They, rnanceu4ed under the fire of the "Spaniards. with several columns, and their cavalry shewed itself on their left. The se,. venth Spanish division, which was en the tight of the infantry, and immediately next the ca% airy, was thrown into some confusion,' but - oft n formed column, and came on. Two regiments of -that division behaved nobly ; the first battalion of the Spanish Guards, and the fifth of Seville. They remained in line the whole time ; floating hack. 'wards and forwards, but always facing the, enemy. The Guards, who were 900 strong, left 14 officers, and 450 men on the field ; the' sth of Seville had -450 in anion, and about 80 have been accounted for. This is the regiment which so much distin guished itself with _Sir Robert Wilson at Puerto de Batton, and which, is Meniio - ned uy him. • At length a French close column under Marshal Mortier marched au pas de charge, broke the hoe, and its head came equal to the second line of ca valry. At this instant the . French deployecL A great many pieces of artillery in front of the cavalry kept up a heavy discharge of grape, supported by a line of infantry, and the cavalry advanced to charge the sight of the Spaniards. The battle was now lost; in a few minutes the whole of the-infantry on the right gave way; and the cavalry, seeing thig, turned their horses. to the rear. The wbo!e of the left of the infantry stood firm, and cheered the Ge neral as he passed them; but without • saying a word, except that the left should follow him, he quitted the field. No effo'rt was afterwards made to make - the !east stand. The whole army fled in the mast dreadftil confusion. A few squadrons attempted to form up, but gaie way again. The rapid fire of this French, their shouts of vitory, and the sound of the' herseS' feet, (a sound terrible to the Spaniards in the plains where :hey have so often been cut to pieces,) aug merited the confusion. The cannon was abandon ed, and the whole of it was instantly in the pottier of the French. The French cavalry found them , selves in the midst 0130 4 000 fugittVe infantry, who had no position nearer than. La Carolina, and were obliged to traverse a plain more than 150 miles in many parts. The French did not pursue beyond thi Guadiana. MacdiliT'leftorts (lie _was continually in . the thick - est.of cornineheitOrlent), to re trieve the - forstme of the day useless: _ When Are.isaga took the fatal resolution of quit , - ling his position .at Santa erni, and seeking the' French in the' plains, the foll Owing memorial and• , remotistrance.was delivered to him by Baron: Cros sard, the Commissioner from the Court of Vienna. The irrefragable arguments advanced in it were thown away upon this ❑nfortunate man : Santa Cruz de la Zarza, Nov. 16, 1809. " To-his Excellency the . General-in Chief, Don JUAN CAR , LOS DE A RIEZAGA, in his Head.quartcrs at Santa trim de I.a,Zarza.: • " Possessing too slight a claim to the cptifidence of your Excellency, to be personally informed of . your present and ulterior intentions, the situation. of your army, that of the co-operating corps, and also that of the enemy I can only form my opinion by_ what I see; and by the reports of those whom every appearance concurs to accredit.. if I. am to confide in these reports,. your Excellency is resolved to .march against the enemy, to offer him battle. " Upon this. supposition, I should be unworthy of the confidence with which I liave been honoured by the Supreme governing Junta of the Kingdoms of Spain and the Indies, and also of your Eicellen cy's egeetn, if I had not, at the pieient moment,. the firmness respeolfolly to submit to you.the reflec tions suggested by that res Yesterday -your. Excellency concurred . with me as to the danger there would be in potting to hazard the affairs of your country,. and of. thus compromis ing the interests of Europe, 'so intitnately united with "those of Spain. You appeared to me to be sen sibly impressed with the honour of' dk,livering-Ma drid and . Castile, by continuing the same grand movements by which you have hitherto driven the enemy before you ; and seemed to be vey little in : fluenced by the glory of gaining. a battle, the suc- - : cess of which is almost always owing.. more to chance than to the talents of the .General ; whereas the success' acquired by movements crown his tro byatteStmg his genius. But as a' battle is the.last resource .ot a General,, permit: me, with a view to a just decision, to, state the causes which authorize a recourse to the chances of an engage ment, A General offers battle when hefinds' his • supplies cut off, or. obstru6ted; when, by a com bined operation, he is sure of totally destroying the enemy; when, either from the quality of his troops, or. the advantage of the ground, he possesses a ma t nifest and decided superiority ; whenit is necessary to anticipate the arrival of reinforcements e'xpealed: by - the enemy, and ,whose junetion would reduce him to - an impossibility. of keeping the field ; when it is of importance to relieve a besieged place ; when the consequences of a defeat• can, in no case, coun tervail the advantages- that would result from vi6to , ry ; in Sllolt, when his objeticannotbe attained but by a battle. " These, Sir, it I am not mistaken, are the principal situations in which every thing may be abandoned to the hazard of a battle. But lam of It is impossible to ascertain . what the loss on each side was. The battle lasted about five hours; and the troops were otten ,very near each other, and sometimes mixed. Persons who have been on the side of the Tagus With the French,, say they lost 6000 men, but the number is probably exaggerated. It is certain that ,op to the battle-they lost 1000 ca valry. The Spaniards only saved frur or five piecei of artillery, and hardly' any baggage. The Spanish soldiers fought with great valour, but what 'folly to commit on a plain such young troops ,with veteraus! Had they been in a position or in maintains, the battle would have probably had a different termina tion. The Spaniards cannot rnanceuvre under fire, which the French do with almost as much facility as on parade, The regiment of Murcia was cut ;o pieces: The Spanish loss was, 5000, killed and wounded, and 15,000 prisoners. Marshal Vigor, who had crossed the Tagus at Villamaurique, pursued all night. At ten o'clock he ovettook 800 Spanish dragoons at Silk, twenty , miles from Ocana, who were so fatigued, having been saddled thirty-six_ hours, and who had unbri dled their horses, that they were all made prisoners. General Areisaga, ,on the first appearance of the enemy, mounted into the steeple of Ocana. On descrying the enemy, he felt much alarmed, and now, for the first time, perceived what was likely'to be the consequence of his rashness and presumption, He went to the left, and before the battle was qUite lost, he quitted the field._ Brigadier-General Lord Macduff, upon this, proposed to.the Marquis of Mulespina, Major-General of the Horse,. who was second in command, to /assume the chief com mand, and that he would assist him to the utmost of his power. The French cavalry, at this time, • broke through the centre, and rendered all Lord opinion; that your Excellency is in no one of these situations. " Having in your rear the most fertile Provinces of. Spain; and master of the main roads that lead : to rit nrevnilc in your them, the abruZance I I i lency s camp banishes every idea of scarcij. " It is important, that a battle should be part . of a combined plan between your Excellency and the co-operating corps; but such a - supposition, in the present case, would show the absence of all,calcula lion. With the exception of the valour and good dig.. 'positions with which your Excellency has been able to animate your troops, The superiority in all military points incontestibly belongs to the enemy. _ " By marching . voluntarily against the enemy, your Excellency yields to him all the advantage; of a position which he will have studied in every re spect, to which he will have adapted his evolu tions, -and where he will have distributed his artil lery; whtrea3 the march of yesterday has proved to . your Excellency the difficulty. of *putting yours in motion. trotn Santa Cruz back to Dos Banjos. The great est part of the army was ten miles in front of Ocana. Naior-General Bernez and the cavalry arrived at Ocana at four o'clock in the afternoon. They found there. the. French General Paris, with 800 -dragoons and' Poles. A! out 400 Spaniards atmeked 'them. 101iDON,s.,lrinted by RICHARD Hr\RIUS,os No. 4 :m2 / 14qt-court, Bow-street ; and Pi:Wished by WILLIAM A RMIGE R SCRIPPS, South Molton.treet. twit:nor :cnare. At:thg Suw-OvFicE, No. 112, Stratid where Advertisements, Orders for rho Paper, Letters forthe.Editor, &c. (postlaia), must biaddretsNi • arniy—that army which is file hope of Spain, tli6 focus of its forces, the sthool of. its nottierons levies , 'of which circutristartres, now more than ever, tirge and accelerate the formation; at a dead time of the ;yearapprCpriated to negociatiOns. How dreadful the shock which this fatal blow might g ive ,to the political system ! If, by any'cliatibe, a portion of the troops co-operating in the Peninsulr did not carry into their operations a spirit of Unmixed and absolute good will, such poltiowtvould not neglect to lay hold of a legitimate pretext for retreating; and , from that •moment the a&ivity or the other corps would not only become useless, but would be eved dangerous to themselves " From this statement I conceive that your Ex.'s cellenCy will 'obtain the glory of • delivering Madricl : and your country by continuing these tnovernents,anc . by vigorously ; abstaining front -committing yourself to the hazard of a general engagement. To effea thig purpose, it would be SUffiCient that your,Excaency should proceed a tew leagues farther to your right; and there taking : a:position as near as possible to-• the left: bank of the Tagus, you might employ all the means of na ure and art to entrench yourself. From:the point in question, you might push beyond the right back -of the river a strong advanced guard, to be supported by an intermediate corps placed in echelon. , These two corps, which should. likewise be entrenched, might at pleasure send. opt strong -detachments in all direttions, in front and rear of Madrid, and upon Madridits.-11. In this Situation your 'Excellency night employ the right in making excursions is far as the post. of -Guidarama, and by daily attaclong the French, you would thus give: con. fidence to the inhabitants of Mar.:rid, dishearten and inttinidate the enemy, obstrua .his supplies' .and give experience to the Spanish troops. "In this Position; it would be easy tcrwait for intelligence from the Dukes del Parque'arid d'A lll,l ' cpiernue to establish .communications with them the most simple signals, arid at length 'to ter- , ,minate with success a manoeuvre coinpletaly de 'cisive. " But in the most unfortunate event, should your Exdellency be attacked and deleattd in your position, that could not happen until your Excel , !envy had previously made the enemy sustain tbe . most sensible loss; and then falling back upon Cuenca and Valencia, and'oecopying at pleasure, the chaing of mountains reading into the four kingdorny your Excellency would be still formidable, even in% defeat, and would powerfully protect your country ', (Signed) " The Baron De C OSSAR ",Major in the Armies of his Majesty peror of Austria, Knight ot. the Or der of tF.cMaPI: - Theresa, and Commissioner to • the Spanish Armies." FATAL MYSTERY.,--Mr. William Parker., an Officer of Excise,_ was found dead at a little distance from his, dwelling-house, at Pool, under very SUS picious circumstances, on Friday week. On Satur day a Coroner's Inquest was field upon the body' when it appeared; that Mr. Parker had beetv - s"" veying at Yeadon, on Thursday, and that on his re turn home„ about six o'clock an the evening, he *35 fOund•by a wotnan, laid at the side 'of the 'road, •i" a state of insensibility. The woman passing on 4 1e t two boys with a cast; to whOse Care site lecoinnnettia-:, b ' w, "a . when the boys came 11p, they tbtnia Pito his horse him so far recovered as to be able to inf orm theini• that be had been treated' w ith violen,e, knOcke4 fi offender li y t oj a person rs u o s n t justice.. 4 With some diffic ult y 11- known to .him , and that he was determined on the fx,llowing day to bring the he was again s e at e d u p on his horse, and w as met by : several persons on his way homeward; the list t ime he was seen - he "WoS desCending the. hil l at the ell trance to Pool. A family living near that place, via - alarmed about seven o'clock,. which, as they slIP: Posed,' ; proceeded from some'person in diStress, and ha t ci vv g aiy o n,g i in discoveredns and; they e l their sympathy was so sal- excited.as to induce then! as we have already stated, the body was f o und, am' yorfeitttuhsreloiebsCfrteo.rmero,oillbeuiFrt rsietdhaaer;hvnioNioveleituid:ioilegu::: had evidently been dragged from'the middle of the road, and thrown into a ditch four feet deep. T' v Q' wounds were discovered upon the pers on of this fated man, the one ui s der his leir ear, and the othe r on his side. His horse was also found at a distance of about forty yards, 'nearer the hoose of the-de ceased, tied to a roller. The verdict returned by the. Coroner's Inquest was to the following eifect -- I'ound dead in a ditch, under . suspicious circumstanc e ' of wilful murder, supposed to have been perpetrated by some person.or persons unknown.. •" The same cause leaves. your Excellency as lit tle hope of deriving any advantage from the services of your.cavalfy. " I conceive it a physical impossibility; that the enemy should be so speedily joined by reinforce merits ; otherwise, the Government, in 'communi cating such information, would have enabled you to be powerfully seconded by diversions on the part of the co-operatieg corps. " No besieged place expe&s direa succours from your Excellency. ".Troops newly formed, - if beaten, present only the certain prospect of dispersion; and this risk can not, be counterbalanced by any lope of success. • The object of your Excellency being the deli verance of Madrid and the Castiles, it is manifest that, by continuing those manoeuvres which are already drawing to a close, this object will be at tained, without in any resped hazarding the exist ence of the army. " If I now proceed to examine the advantages .that may result from the gaining of a battle, in order to contrast them with the injurious Consequences 'of a defeat, how easy it is to perceive, that •the petty amount of the former can never compensate the enormous extent of the latter ? f' The evacuation of Madrid and - the Castiles are the' only advantages which I Can discoverin the gaining of a battle. Your Excellency would not in vain flatter yourself, that, though fighting at the gates of the capital, you should be powerfully aided by the efforts of the inhabitants ; for it. the tattle of Talavera furnished a proof of the patriotic attachment of those loyal Spaniards, it also demon strated that very little is to be expeded from their • DiEn. exertions. On.the 23d ult. at Edinburgh, Harriet, the infan't 6 1 . 1 ! h " . ter of lames Hamilton, Esq.' 01 Helint. , " Your Excellency cannot calculate'ork a superi On only of numbers, on account of the Vapidity with - Saturday last, at his house 'in 'Cornhill , Coward, one of the . Preachers•at the l'hit,adelphian W indmill-street, I.msbuty-square. Mr. lol l ," which the French constantly erred their junaions. 0 Besides, certain English officers that escaped from Maze, rr hist, at his house in Hatton-street, lam ts the prisons of Madt id,. have assured Colonel Dillon, On Monday, the eldest son that the French considered this superiority of num,- ber as an element of disorder, upon - which theirLae of Hunting follil.hyeesaarisl.le day in Sr. Mary,osflstthreeeHt,orcLaCn.2lbiarridies4o,l43agresda.:l, Mrs. Watson, relict of Mr. Henry \A'ais , m, founded part of their hopes. don', Deputy ltegister of that Araideacohdy- . o f thG ei What evils would , not, on the oilier ,hand, 'Rev. Edward Hunt of Greenville, in th e said c o u nty Laiely, in williarn-street, Watertbrd, the 1,41(t Cotfr Yesterday Mr. "l'art, Proprietor of the Hung ertord flow front A defeat which a river fordable, it is true, fee-house, Strand, ' atter a few days ff f but extremely confined, would render destrudive Your Excellency would in one, instant lose you r c t le r it u vo iu m uc n e . srer, Mr. Henry Ruff; brother to Mr..Ku .) tU/ tVJS iY J . .CR.AVESIND, rEBRUARY 27: Arrived—the Sir Godfrey Webster, Walker, from 1 3 " maica, Sailed--the Mentor, Stephenson, and June, Corbett, for Jamaica; and the Jtachael, Carr, for MIR - (u)rnray, the Esq. .ul o t t : L a i t nt L ro i s n e. tro a s t e a s , Son. cotlarad, the Lady-of 1 -012 a M • On the 19th uft. thd, Lady of John Campbell, Esq• of Stoneheld, Scotland,, of a Daughter. On the 17th . ult. as jedburgh, Mrs.. Brown, of •Itowst3tiScotlan,l, o t a Son. - At Chessell's-Court, Scotland, the Lady of Major Jai n" Irving, ofa Datlgh Edin- On the :cut Ult. Mrs. Cathcart, Of George's - sq uare, burgh, of a Daughter. 1 , 4 The some day, Mrs. Boyd, of 13roadmeadows, Scotia!" of.a Daughter. • On the 24th ult. at Adbury,-House,•the Lady of D.. Chaill bers, Esq. of a Daughter. On Saturday last, at Deal, the Lady of Dr. N eale, , sician to the Forces, of a Son.. On Sunday last, at Bark. Hall, 'near Warrington.g'lrs" Patten, Lady of the Member for Lancaster, of a Still-bora female 41APRIa On Tuesday last, at Banstead, h in Surrey, Captain P latt ! . of the Royal South I s incoln Militia, - to Charlotte, widow 01 Captain John 4Ourchier, of.the Royal Navy. ( j,nd e krter , t Itl; oxv 4 t ill) "egir 11, 111 the 4 ' 41 1